What's Your Plan?
by TheWeasleyMarauder
Summary: Fredrick Weasley has fancied the snobby little bookworm Hermione since her Fourth Year in Hogwarts when he realized there was more to her than just brains. What happens when she saves Fred's life during the Battle of Hogwarts using a spell only she, Harry, and Ron know about from their time spent in Grimmauld Place hunting horcruxes? I do not own anything HP. -A Fredmione Fic-
1. Chapter 1

What's Your Plan?- Fredmione Fic

 _She was walking down the ornate staircase into the Great Hall, dressed in the lightest blue he had ever seen. She looked angelic and he had to admit: Granger cleaned up well._

 _He watched as her eyes flitted from face to face, searching for someone in particular. He knew she wasn't going to the dance with ickle-little-Ronikins, so who was the beautifully dressed bookworm searching for?_

 _As her doe brown eyes landed on him, he saw them light up..was she looking for HIM? There was no way she was looking at him like that. They had a friendly enough relationship, with her practically living at his house over every break Hogwarts could offer, but he sometimes felt that she lived to thwart he and George's plans. He had lost countless number of points for Gryffindor due to her snitching on the infamous Weasley Twins to Professor Mcgonagall. So no, she was definitely not looking at him, Fred Weasley, like that; however, her eyes never left his direction and she stayed near the top of the staircase. In a split second, he decided to go see what all this staring was about. It was making him feel weird—a pleasant weird, but weird— and he could tell Angelina was getting jealous by how obviously he was staring back at her. As he walked over to his annoying little brother's favorite bookworm, he felt someone push past him. He turned towards this rude intruder and saw who Hermione had been staring at. It was Viktor Krum._

 _-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-_

" _EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He knew he didn't have to yell, but it was a powerful spell, he was a powerful bloke, and I mean he was alone in the Room of Requirement, it's not like anyone would hear him..unless he wanted them to, which he didn't._

 _As little white wisps came out of the tip of his wand he grunted angrily. Apparently, he and George's prank with the garden gnomes that ended up with Bill angry at them for weeks wasn't a powerful enough memory. "Okay well what else is there?" he spoke out loud not fearing anyone hearing him and thinking he was insane. "There's the time we put the spider in Ron's…No that's not good enough..It has to be the happiest memory that I have. What's the happ…BY GEORGE I GOT IT!" He looked around for his brother waiting for his twin to respond with a cringeworthy pun, but George was still in the Great Hall eating, well flirting if he were being honest, with Katie Bell. Oh well, time to try this spell again._

 _As he braced his feet and held out his wand, he heard the door to the DA's secret room open. He quickly spun around and there she was. He had noticed how beautiful she was at the Yule ball in her Fourth Year and in his Sixth, but he wasn't about to let her know that. Hermione had already been hurt by one Weasley brother, he wasn't about to ask her to give him a chance, even though try as he might, he couldn't get the bossy little bookworm out of his head._

 _Before he could open his mouth to ask her what in Godric's name was she doing there, he saw her face. She had been crying. What was going on with his girl?_

 _Everyone BUT Hermione seemed to know that Fred had feelings for the younger witch, it's not like he had been secretive. But once people knew that one of the famous Weasley Twins had a thing for the snobbish bookworm, they let up with teasing her…well everyone but Malfoy. She didn't know it, but he would do anything to make sure she always had a smile on that pretty little face of hers…even if it meant fighting the entire Slytherin house without a wand._

 _So, when he saw that she was crying he knew either his git of a little brother or the Death Eater Spawn himself had done something to her._

 _Quickly he was at her side and he scooped her up into a tight embrace, causing the young witch to let out a started squeak. She was not expecting Fred Weasley to be in the Room of Requirement and was incredibly embarrassed that he had obviously seen her crying._

" _Mione whats wrong?" he asked her swiftly, not loosening his grip on her. As he asked her the question she embraced him just as tightly and began crying even harder into his chest. They stayed there holding onto one another as she calmed her breathing and he smoothed out her hair. He hated the fact that she was crying but by Godric, he was holding the witch he had been pawning after for the past year!_

 _As he was thinking about how close they were to one another she stiffened and slowly let him go. He took that as a sign and untangled his arms from around her tiny torso. She looked up into his eyes and as her big doe eyes started to fill with tears again, he led her over to the benches on the far side of the room. Once he sat her down, he kneeled in front of her so that he was eye level with the young witch and asked her again what was wrong. Instead of answering, she lifted her left hand and showed him what was etched onto the back of it: 'I must not speak out of turn.'_

 _As soon as he saw the bloody cuts, his vision was immediately clouded with red. That evil little toad had caused Hermione to torture herself, but as he stared at her hand he started to realize that it wasn't Hermione's neat handwriting that was cut into her skin. It was messier, more rushed. He knew that handwriting immediately. It was the handwriting that he frequently saw at the Burrow when Ginny or Ron left their letters lying around. It was the handwriting of The-Boy-Who-Lived._

 _Hermione's voice startled him out of his thoughts. She had wiped away her tears with the unharmed hand that he wasn't holding. Her voice was hard and steady, "I asked Umbridge when we were going to start learning actual defense against the dark arts. I just had enough with all of her rules and her lack of teaching ability. I know we have the DA, but shouldn't we have a competent teacher as well?" As he started to nod, she started again, "Anyway I went off on a tangent about how even though Moody was in a box for the entirety of last year, we learned more in the last couple weeks he had been our professor than the entire time we've had her as a teacher. Of course, she started to get red faced and as she was about to give me detention, Harry spoke up. He said how he agreed that we weren't learning anything and even went as far as to say that Neville's toad would be a better teacher, if the Ministry had decreed that DADA needed to be taught by a toad. Obviously we both got detention, but instead of making us cut into our own hands, I had to, I-I, she made us.." breaking off in a sob Hermione started to cry again._

 _Fred had fallen into a livid silence as she had retold her story but as she started to cry, his anger was pushed to the back of his mind. The only thing that mattered was Hermione. He slowly pulled his hand up to cup her cheek. He now had one hand holding her bloodied hand and another on the crying witch's face. He started to brush away her tears with his thumb. She slowly quieted and looked up at him._

 _If anyone had walked into the Room of Requirement at that moment, they would have thought the two were snogging..if this was any other bird, 2 years ago, Fred knew he honestly would have done just that, but this was not just any girl, this was Mione and he lov..respected her too much to take advantage of her._

 _Instead, Fred flipped over their clasped hands and showed her his own scars. 'I must not be tardy.'and 'I must follow the rules.' were scarred into the back of his hand. The first in his own handwriting, the second was nearly identical to his own, but the letters were skinnier and longer._

 _Hermione gasped and ran her fingers along the back of his scarred hand and so quiet he could barely here her, she whispered his twins name._

" _Yeah, Filtch caught us giving second years some of our Nose Bleed Nougats and some of our other pastries and he immediately took us to his favorite teacher's office." He rushed before she could cut into his story, "Before you get angry Mione, we weren't testing them on the second years, we were trying to help them get out of DADA class with her. Sometimes you just need a break from the old toad…Anyway, as you can obviously tell by the messy handwriting of the less handsome twin etched onto my hand, she forced us to cut eachother. She never did catch the second years that were eating the sweets so me and George took the punishment and considered it a win," he chuckled with no evident humor, " I mean, we both obviously didn't want to do it, it was damn near the hardest thing I had to do, he's my twin, he's my closest friend not to mention my brother and she forced us to carve lines into eachother's flesh. I thought she only made us do it, ya know, 'the pranksters that are always breaking the rules,'" he chucked again half heartedly, "but I should have known she'd eventually attack the Golden Trio. Or 2/3 of it at least. Where was Ron?"_

 _He was starting to get fed up with his little brother. How could he have left Harry and Hermione to get tortured by Umbridge. If nothing else, he could have told him or George so they could have tried to make some sort of distraction to get Hermione..and Harry..out of that pastel pink torture chamber._

" _He was flirting with Lavender.."she replied, obviously annoyed. "He didn't even realize Harry and I had 'dared to defy the ministry.'" She sneered as she mimicked Umbridge's sickly sweet tone." I'm glad he didn't have to do what we did, but it won't be long before she does this to first years Fred. We have to do something."_

" _Hermione Granger wants to break the rules? Who would have ever thought..Perfect Prefect wants the help of the Weasley Twins." As he lowered his hand from her cheek, she immediately took it in her free hand. As he chuckled at the nights turn of events, her breath quickened._

" _Yes Fred," she whispered, "I need your help..you and George's help..we have to get her out of this school before anyone actually gets hurt. She's trying to take away everything that makes Hogwarts a home to so many kids who otherwise have nothing. The ministry is trying to get rid of Dumbledore. If he's gone she'll be able to do whatever she 'sees fit.'. Who knows what she'll do next.." She started to speak so quietly that Fred wasn't sure if she was talking to him or herself anymore._

" _We have to stop this." Her voice like steel. When he looked into her eyes, he could tell why this young witch was a Gryffindor. There was no question about it, she was going to get Umbridge out of Hogwarts, with or without his help._

" _Well Miss Granger," Fred replied with a light, yet serious tone, "I always knew you were secretly mischievous..me and George have been toying around with some ideas, what would your brilliant mind have us do?"_

 _Before Fred could even take a breath, Hermione leaned in and brushed her lips against his own. It lasted barely a second and if Fred wasn't so hyperaware of Hermione's every move, he would have missed it. But he didn't, and as he looked at her, he watched a blush creep up on her cheeks. He felt his ears turn the characteristic Weasley Red as well._

 _Huh, that wasn't what he had been thinking, but good Godric he wasn't about to argue._

 _He didn't even have time to lean in to deepen the kiss before she looked him in his eyes and simply stated, "What's your plan?"_

 _And Fred told her._

 _-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-_

 _Before the twins mounted their brooms to leave Hogwarts and Umbridge behind for good, Hermione took Fred's hand and led him into one of the secret passage ways not far from he and his twin's hiding spot._

" _Why Miss Granger, why are you pulling me into this dark and secluded tunnel, people will start to assume things.." he taunted with a cheeky grin. He was actually hoping to get one last word with his fluffy headed prefect before he left, so he was perfectly happy that she had initiated the seclusion. It made talking to her privately so much easier._

" _Stop it Fred. I know I helped come up with this plan, but are you sure you want to do this? You're leaving school, dropping out. I know you and George have the joke shop, but Fred, if you want to sta.."_

" _No Hermione. I don't care that I'm dropping out. I don't care that I won't have a diploma that says my name on it. They'd probably give me George's by mistake anyway," he looked at her with a wirey grin, "This is what I want to do. Me and George, were the Weasley Twins, it's not like people expected much of us anyway..We're doing this for us, but most importantly we are doing this for Hogwarts."_

 _Hermione knew that there was no point trying to argue, so instead she stood on her tip toes and kissed him._

 _Fred reacted immediately. He had been waiting for this since his sixth year and he wasn't about to let her get away with just a quick brush of lips like she had in the Room of Requirement. He moved his body so that they were pressed as close as they could be to one another and deepened the kiss. His hands immediately went to her surprisingly soft hair. Leaving one hand entangled in her curls, he moved his other hand to cradle her cheek, almost exactly the way he had in the Room of Requirement. He slowly started to trace her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue, begging her to let him in. She let out a quiet, airy moan and he took advantage of her open lips. He explored her mouth as she did the same with this, taking turns with one another. He could feel her hands on his arms then his back then his chest..Good Godric her hands were now in his hair.._

 _He had to break the kiss. He didn't WANT to break the kiss. He didn't WANT to stop touching her or for her to stop touching him but if they continued, he wouldn't be able to go through with their plan._

 _So he broke the kiss, resulting in a slightly disgruntled Hermione._

" _Listen Mione, I'm not leaving forever. I'm going to go to the Burrow after we leave here then me and George are going to move into the flat above the shop." He chuckled at her surprised expression, "Yeah me and George do actually have a plan, no need to look so surprised. You know it's almost Christmas break and I'm sure I'll be seeing you and Boy Wonder at the Burrow. So. Quit. Worrying. This will all be over soon," taking a deep breath he continued, " I-I actually had something I really wanted to tell you before I left though." He took another deep breath and grabbed her hand, "Hermione, I fancy you. More than I ever thought I could fancy someone. I'm not asking you to wait for me, you're the brightest witch of our age; you're part of the Golden Trio, a Hogwarts dropout doesn't deserve you. But I WILL wait for you, and when this war is over, because we both know there will be one, I'd like to.."_

" _Okay Gred! Time to Bolder and Roll!" George's voice interrupted from the entrance to the passageway, "Whoops! Sorry Hermio..wait a second, am I interrupting something here?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows at the pair who had guilty swollen lips and messy hair._

" _Well actually.." Fred started._

" _No, Fred was about to come looking for you Georgie. We're ready, just give us a minute." She cut in quickly, "And by the way George, it's 'Rock and Roll.'"_

" _Rock, Bolder. Tomato, Potato." George giggled, "We have 5 minutes until operation 'Take Down the Pink Cat', so hurry up you two." As he left the passageway, he was whistling something that sounded like a mixture of the Death March and 'Fred and Hermione sitting in a tree."_

" _Listen Herm.."_

" _No you listen to me Fred Weasley. I've been in lo..I've fancied you since I met you in first year. You're reckless, you don't care about the rules.." Pausing for a moment to catch her breath and hopefully calm her quick heart rate, she continued, "I know there will be a war. And I know that I will be near the center of it. I know that people will be hurt, I know that there is a very real probability that I won't make it out. I'm best friends with bloody Harry Potter. I'm a..a mudblood. I-I have a target on my back. But if you promise me that you will do everything in your power to stay safe, I promise to do the same. You can't be reckless during this war Freddie, you have to fight smart, stay alert. You have to take care of your family, Ginny, George, so you cannot be worrying about me. You have to protect yourself. If you can promise me that, I'll wait for you. I'll travel through hell, I'll kill bloody Voldemort, I'll do whatever it takes to get back home. Back to you."_

" _Deal." he replied, his eyes shining. If this brilliant witch wanted him to fight bravely and smart so she could come back to him at the end of the war, that was exactly what he was going to do._

 _-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-_

 _As Fred was reliving his fondest memories of he and Hermione, the fireworks he set off in his seventh year were slowly taking on new forms. They seemed more menacing. His twin didn't seem to notice but Fred could tell something was wrong._

 _The reds and the greens looked more like the lights that accompany curses._

 _What was going on? And why was no one else worried? As he looked down into the crowd of people watching he and George, he caught sight of Hermione._

 _She was crying. No, she wasn't just crying, she was screaming at him as well. Why couldn't he hear her? This wasn't how this was supposed to go...They were supposed to make a swamp of the halls of Hogwarts. Then they were supposed to set fireworks and fly out on their brooms during the fifth years DADA O.W.L.S. with Umbridge. This was supposed to be an exciting time for the students, so why did Hermione look so distraught? Why couldn't he hear anything? And why were the fireworks explosions so strange. They were supposed to make animals and the 'WWW' sign of their new joke shop. They weren't supposed to be firing into the crowds of students. They weren't supposed to look like spells._

 _He looked back down at Hermione and saw something caused him to immediately stop flying. His twin didn't seem to notice and continued to fly like everything was normal._

 _But everything was not normal. Where the once distraught Hermione once stood was a different Hermione. She looked older. Her eyes looked like they had seen much more of this war than had even started. She was bruised and bloodied and she had her wand pointed straight at him._

 _He couldn't hear her, or anything really, but he could read her lips: "Ligabis Vitae."_

 _What the bloody hell.._

 _Before he could even finish the thought Fred Weasley was hit by a flash of blue light, and everything was dark._

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

As Fred started to sit up, he could tell something was wrong. Where was he? And why was he covered in rubble? Had something happened with the fireworks?

As he looked around him, it all came back. He was in the middle of battle, the Battle of Hogwarts. A wall had exploded and fallen on top of him. He should be dead. Why wasn't he dead?

As continued to look around, he saw his family and friends all around him firing curses and hexes at the seemingly never ending army of death eaters.

He was starting to become frantic when he didn't see a bushy brown haired girl fighting alongside his family. Where was she? Finally, turning to his right, he saw the face he had been searching for, Hermione.

She was dressed exactly how he had seen her when his..life flashed before his eyes?..no it wasn't his entire life, George would have been there more..No those memories were just memories of her.

He looked up at her face and was startled when he noticed how pale she was. She had blood dripping into her eyes and around her temples from what looked like a slash along her hairline. Her arms had bruises and cuts all over them, one cut looking like it could almost have spelled something and she looked like she could barely stand. Her grip on her wand was tight however and for some reason it looked like she had a slight blue glow around her entire body.

What was going on?

"Hermi.." he reached towards her.

"Huh, it actually worked." She breathed, slightly surprised.

As he tried to get to his feet to get closer to her, he felt an intense stab of pain near his temple and in his chest. His sight clouded over for only a moment, but when he regained his vison, he watched as Hermione collapsed right in front of him, all of the light that surrounded her vanishing as her wand rolled out of her hand.


	2. Chapter 2

What's Your Plan?

Chapter 2 – King's Cross Station

Sitting up, Hermione had no idea where she was. She wasn't in the Great Hall. She wasn't in Madam Pompfrey's healing ward. So where was she, and more importantly, where was Fred?

As she got to her feet, she was able to take a better look around. Everything was startlingly white and clean-looking. It seemed as though she was in London, but that couldn't be right, could it? She continued to look around and let out a small shriek of surprise when she saw an aged wizard sitting on a bench near what she thought was a train boarding platform.

"Prof-Professor Dumbledore?"

"Ahh, Miss Granger, how nice of you to stop by. I wish I could say that I was expecting you, but sadly I was not, so no tea is prepared.." he looked around the deserted train station as though he was waiting for someone to bring a tray of tea and biscuits, "Well, sit down my dear. May I ask where we are? I believe Harry told me not long ago, however I want to be absolutely certain. I've never been to King's Cross you see."

King's Cross! That's it! That's why everything looked so familiar. They were in a rather clean and bright version of the muggle train station.

"Uh-um yes sir. We're in King's Cross Train Station. But may I ask, why are we here?" Hermione was starting to get confused, and that didn't happen very often. He had said Harry was here not long ago as well. Why was Harry here? Why wasn't he fighting Voldemort with the rest of Hogwarts?

"I was hoping that you could answer that question for me dear, you see I was in the middle of discussing a rather difficult knitting pattern with Helga and Godric when for some reason I was forced to apperate to this bench..for the second time today might I add.." He started, interrupting her thoughts.

Helga and Godric? Helga Hufflepuff and Godric Gryffindor? No..no there was no way. If she was talking to Dumbledore, who died in her Sixth year, and he was discussing knitting patterns with two of the founders of Hogwarts, then that meant that she was..

"Am I dead? Is HARRY dead?" she was starting to get hysterical. Harry couldn't be dead. He's her best friend. He escaped death before, this was just another one of those times. Yes, that's what it was. Harry was fine..he was fighting Volde..

"Harry's dead.." she whispered to herself in quiet disbelief.

"Listen to me Miss Granger. Harry is not dead. Yes, he was hit with the killing curse that Lord Voldemort cast himself. It was a necessary sacrifice to defeat The Dark Lord," Dumbledore explained before taking a deep breath and continueing, "But one thing I most certainly do not understand, is why you are here." Dumbledore said softly.

"NECESSARY? IT WAS NECESSARY FOR MY BEST FRIEND TO DIE?" Hermione screeched in full on hysterics. "Harry can't be dead..he has to fight, we destroyed all the horcruxes..We did everything you asked..and Harry is STILL dead.." she sobbed as she fell to her knees.

"Hermione, Harry Potter is. Not. Dead. I can swear to it if you wish, however I am dead..so I'm not sure how beneficial that would be, binding to someone who is already deceased.." He stated with a knowing smile.

"Harry isn't dead? He's not dead.." she sighed in relief. Finally catching her breath she continued, "But if Harry was hit by a killing curse and sent here, does that mean..am I dead?"

"Now, now Miss Granger, you know that not to be the case," he paused for a moment trying to phrase the question he knew he needed to ask, "Anywho, why don't you tell me what exactly you did to Fredrick Weasely."

The spell! That's it! That must be why she was sent here. It was a powerful spell, maybe powerful enough to let her speak to dead people? She wasn't sure but before she could complete the thought to ask, she had the sudden realization: if she wasn't dead, and Harry wasn't dead..did that mean that Fred wasn't dead?

"Is Fred alive?" she asked, finally meeting the wise wizard's eyes.

"I think you know the answer to that Miss Granger."

She thought back for a moment trying to clear her head of the clouds that seemed to clog her mind. She was trying to remember what had happened before she woke up in King's Cross Station..

The Weasleys. They were fighting the Death Eaters all around her..and for some reason the rubble that covered Fred's body was starting to be pushed off of his chest. She could see him starting to look around but as she was getting closer to him, a sharp pain exploded in her temple and another in her chest and she collapsed. The next thing she remembered was waking up in the astoundingly clean train station.

"He's alive," she sighed in relief.

"Yes, he IS alive Hermione, "Dumbledore cut into her thoughts, "Now back to my original inquiry, what exactly did you do to the eldest Weasley Twin?"

"I-I'm not 100% sure Professor," pausing, she collected her thoughts but was interrupted by a quiet and encouraging voice.

"I say its best you start from the beginning."

And so she did.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

" _Harry! Ron! I think I found something!" Hermione yelled for her best friends who were in the kitchen in the deceased Blacks' residence._

" _You found a way to destroy the horcruxes? Hermione, you're a genius!" Harry yelled as he ran up the stairs into the dusty library._

" _No..not exactly Harry..I think I found something else..I think I found a way to protect.."_

" _Why haven't you found anything useful yet Hermione? You've been locked up in this bloody library for days and you have nothing to bloody show for it. You're supposed to be the brightest witch of our age.." Ron began._

" _Ronald," Hermione cut in icily, "I realize that you are stressed. I also realize that we are no closer to finding the real horcrux and destroying it than we were at the Burrow. I miss them too," she broke off, thinking of the deep brown eyes of her favorite Weasley Twin, "However, I DID find something. And if you wish to calm down and listen, I can explain."_

" _Go on then." Harry piped in from the doorway, trying to diffuse the tension that was crackling between his two best friends._

" _Well," she started with a glare at the red head, "It says here that a witch or wizard can cast a binding spell on someone who is fighting in battle alongside them. The spell binds the two witches or wizards to one another, similar to the binding magic done in a wizard's marriage, but, instead of being married to one another, they are physically bound. It spreads the damage done to one wizard to the bound wizard so it is not as concentrated on only the witch or wizard that was originally hit. The two have to have had some sort of relationship before the binding can take place," noticing Ron's increasing blush Hermione added in rather quickly, "Not a romantic relationship Ronald, just a meaningful friendship would suffice. The book goes on to say that..well..the spell is forbidden. The binding not only dilutes the concentration of the initial damaging spell, but also any physical feeling that either witch or wizard feels after being bound. If one feels pleasure, so does the other, if one undergoes the Cruciatus Curse, so does the other. If one dies..part of the other dies as well. There's no known way to break the binding once it has occurred."_

" _So how does this help us Hermione?" Harry asked before Ron could say anything to anger the former prefect._

" _Well, I found another source that explains what is needed for the spell to be performed. It's actually not very complicated.."_

" _Yeah..to you. Did you forget what I said literally 3 minutes ago? You're the brightest witch of our age, Hermione, everything is 'not very complicated' to you," Ron cut in gruffly._

" _Would you let me finish Ronald! I was starting to explain how to perform the spell when you so rudel.."_

" _How is it done Hermione?" Harry cut in with a sheepish grin. "Sorry!" he added quickly when he realized that he too had cut her off in the middle of her explanation._

 _Hermione looked at her best mates with exasperation evident in her eyes, "All one has to do is think of the most powerful memory that the two wizards share. It has to be a memory that shaped their relationship and it has to carry the same meaning to both witch or wizard. It has to be equally important to them both. The caster has to go into the mind of the person he or she wishes to bind to. When the memory of the two is discovered, he or she can create the binding, connecting them to each other."_

" _Um.."_

" _What?"_

" _For example," Hermione began, seeing the lack of comprehension in the two wizards standing before her, "Harry, if I wished to bind us together, I would use a form of Legilimency to access your memories of us. Once I found the one that we both believed to be of great importance to the shaping of our friendship, like fighting the troll in First Year, all I would have to do is say the spell and we would be bound. We'd have to be in close proximity of each other for the initial binding to take place, but once the binding is complete, all the physical sensations that we both would feel would be diluted and shared with each other, no matter the distance between us."_

" _So," Ron interrupted a second time, "how exactly does this help us?"_

" _Well, if one of us were to get hurt, we three have a close enough friendship with one another.." Hermione paused blushing, "I think of you both as family," she restarted, "If something were to happen to either of you, and I knew I could save your life by taking on half of your suffering, even if that meant suffering alongside you myself..I would bind to either one of you without thinking. I would do anything I could to lessen your pain or to save your life." Hermione's face was completely red by the end of her speech. She wasn't sure if the boys would agree with her, or if they would be revolted by the idea of feeling the same physical sensations that she felt herself._

" _I agree Mione..if either one of you were dying..I-I'd do anything to save you. You both are the only family I have. And honestly it can't be so bad, being able to feel if your best friends are happy or sad even. At least I'd know how and when either of you needs my help."_

" _Bloody Hell. This is turning into a right sappy conversation. You both know I'd do the same for you. But I don't want to feel either of your..'pleasure'..so be sure don't suffer or get close to dying in this war, alright?" Ron chimed in blushing as tried to lighten the mood._

" _So, Hermione, what's the name of the spell?"_

" _Ligabis Vitae," she replied, a slight tremor in her voice._

\- OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

"So, you bound yourself to Fred Weasley?" Dumbledore assumed, after listening intently to Hermione's recap of the conversation with her friends.

"Yes sir."

"And you were fully aware of the fact that now, you and Fred, will share senses, if you will?"

"Yes sir."

"Does Fred know?" Dumbledore asked softly.

"No sir. I-I wasn't able to tell him before I cast the spell. He was dying Professor, I had to save him." Hermione explained weakly, her feelings for the Weasley twin evident in her voice.

"Well that explains why we are here Miss Granger, the Weasley boy was dying, correct?"

"Correct sir." Hermione replied slightly confused with the direction the conversation had taken.

"Precisely! When you bound to Fred, you felt his injuries as your own, or am I mistaken?"

"No sir. I felt an intense pain in my head and near my chest before I woke up in King's Cross. But sir, what does that have to do with my being here?" Hermione asked, getting more and more confused as the conversation progressed.

"When you bound yourself to the dying Fred Weasley, you took on half of his death. You said it yourself to Harry and Ron. 'If one of the bound witches or wizards dies, a part of the other half of the bound pair dies as well.' Fred was so close to death that when you bound with him, a part of you, Hermione, became just as close to death as he was, but only a part. You saved his life by taking on a portion of his death. By binding yourself to the boy, the injuries he sustained spread throughout the bond. Alone, they were substantial enough to kill even the strongest wizard. Between the two of you, both will survive."

Hermione was in shock. She wasn't dead, that much was evident. And Fred was going to be okay as well.

All of her other worries seemed to go away. Fred was alive, he was going to survive the war.

Dumbledore, taking her silence as a sign to continue, started again, "When you were explaining the intricacies of the spell to Harry and Ron," Dumbledore began, seemingly changing the subject, "I noticed one part of your explanation that you made a mistake on Miss Granger." Pausing to lock eyes with the shocked witch kneeling in front of him, the deceased Headmaster continued, "In order for the spell to bind two witches or wizards together, they must love one another. If you fear that Fred will reject you now that you are bound to each other, don't. He has to have felt the same for you as you do for him in order for the spell to work. And being that the eldest twin survived being crushed by one of the walls that makes up Hogwarts, I can say with utmost certainty that the spell did work Hermione."

The only reply that Hermione was able to give her former Headmaster was a slight sniffle. She hadn't even thought of Fred being repulsed by the bond. But why wouldn't he? He was now being forced into a lifelong bond with the 'Perfect Prefect' Hermione Granger.

Wait..what was it that the Headmaster had just said? In order for the spell to work..they had to love each other?

Fred Weasley loved her? There was no way that could be true. Yes, they had snogged before he and George's infamous escape from Umbridge in Fifth Year, but with Hermione hunting horcruxes with Harry and Ron for the past ten months, surely Fred had moved on. She hadn't had a chance to see him before the battle started…

There was no way that Dumbledore was correct, was there?

"Listen to me Hermione," Dumbledore began, startling the young witch out of her thoughts, "you need to get back to the land of the living. Harry, Ron, Ginny, now Fred and George, are all waiting for you. Don't fret however dear," Dumbledore added, seeing the confusion on her face as she tried to figure out how to leave the train station, "Harry simply boarded a train and it took him back to exactly where he was needed."

"Where exactly am I needed Professor?"

"That's for you to figure out on your own Miss Granger, however I don't think it will take you much time to discover those who need you, and those you need, you are after all, the brightest witch of your age." Dumbledore paused for a moment seeming to gather his thoughts and slowly began again, "After this war is over, and it IS coming to an end Hermione, remember that we cannot start over, but we can begin now, and make a new ending." With a wink and a slightly mischievous grin, Dumbledore was gone.

Well what in the bloody Merlin's dress robes did that even mean?

Before Hermione had a chance to really dwell on her late Headmaster's words, she heard the sound of a train coming into the station. As she stood up and got closer to the boarding platform, she noticed that the train looked oddly similar to the Hogwarts Express. Only much smaller. It looked as though there was only one compartment attached to the engine.

"Well I guess that's my compartment then.." Hermione chuckled to herself. Honestly, what did she expect, peculiarity seemed to be a trademark of this particular train station.

As she boarded the train and entered the sole compartment, she realized it was the same compartment that she, Harry, and Ron shared on their way home after their first year of Hogwarts. She settled in near the window and found her eyes closing on their own accord. She hadn't realized how absolutely exhausted she was, but quickly, and without her permission, Hermione Granger fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

What's Your Plan?

Chapter 3- The Battle of Hogwarts

Fred watched as the survivors of the first wave of the battle went to collect all of those that they had lost to the Death Eaters. He was relieved when he realized that none of his siblings or parents were brought to him in the Madam Pomfrey's Healing Ward, however he couldn't help but tear his eyes away from the unconscious witch that he was holding when he saw two bodies being laid side by side near the far wall of the adjoining Great Hall. It was one of the only walls still upright in the Great Hall, all the others that normally separated it from Madam Pomfrey's hospital had been reduced to rubble by rebounding curses. He felt as though he had been hit with the Cruciatus Curse when he saw the remaining members of the Order place the bodies of Remus and Tonks on the ground. Their limp arms falling by their sides, landing as though they had simply fallen asleep holding hands.

"…even in death, the young parents should stay near each other.." one witch he didn't recognize said in passing.

What did that even mean? Dead? Tonks and Lupin were dead? But what about Teddy? What about Harry? He couldn't afford to lose another parent..

Wait..where was Harry?

Fred knew he had been searching for the Grey Lady before the wall had crushed him, but now, as he looked around at all of his family, he couldn't spot the Boy-Who-Lived anywhere.

Cutting into his thoughts, the girl that he was holding started to stir..

"Madam Pomfrey! Come Quick! She's waking up!"

"Listen Mr. Weasley, I have people who have severed limbs, obliviated memories, and some third years that have even been..been tortured to the point that I'm not sure they can recover," she started admonishing him with a slight quiver in her hard voice, "A simple head injury, like the one I suspect Miss Granger has suffered, does not warrant my undivided attention. When she wakes up, make her drink this," she said as she handed him a vial, filled to the brim with a translucent pink potion that reminded him of the dragon fruit flavored Berties Botts flavored beans, "She will most likely be slightly confused, but not to worry, after she drinks this potion she will be fine," she paused, "I have to go now Fred," she ended soothingly. He and the mediwitch had grown close over all the time he and his twin had spent in the infirmary during their time as students in Hogwarts. Experimental potions and charms caused he and his twin to be on a first name basis with the aged healer.

Before he could thank her, she had already scurried off to help the next injured student or Order member, he couldn't exactly tell which.

Hermione had started to squirm around in his arms more forcefully as she started to wake up from what seemed to be an eternity. She had slept through him carrying her to Madam Pomfrey, slept through the battle raging around them, and even slept through Voldemort's announcement in everyone's head about magical blood and how much of a 'coward' Harry was. If she would have heard that, Fred was sure Harry would have been able to sit back and pop popcorn while the fiery little witch killed Voldemort herself.

But she hadn't. She had been asleep.

He still didn't understand what had happened. One minute he was reliving all of their greatest memories together and the next he was waking up and she was passing out at his feet.

"Fre-Fred?" Hermione whispered in a raspy voice.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

She couldn't believe it. There he was, holding her to his chest as if there wasn't a battle going on all around them. As she whispered his name she felt his heart rate quicken and noticed tears streaming down his cheeks. No, no he shouldn't be sad.

But it wasn't sadness he was feeling. Through their newly formed bond she could feel the relief flush through him. He was relieved that she was alive. Not just relieved, he was thrilled, ecstatic even.

Hermione felt immensely guilty.

As soon as the feelings of guilt coursed through her body she felt Fred stiffen.

"Her-Hermione, what-what was that? I-you-what happened? I know I was hit by the wall, but, I shouldn't," he broke off with a choke of anguish at the thought of his brother being left alone, "I shouldn't have lived..then I saw you and you _did_ something..I don't know wha..this sounds crazy.. _I_ sound crazy…" Fred started. Hermione could both hear and feel the relief he had previously been feeling being replaced by panic rising in him as he spoke.

"No..No Fred, you're not crazy. I.."

He cut her off, handing her a vial of pink liquid, "Here Mione, you need to drink this," his voice had taken on a more dead quality that startled Hermione, "Poppy told me this would make you feel better. You wouldn't feel as confused."

"I'm not confused Fred, I know exactly what's going on..I had to sa.."

"Please Hermione, drink the potion then we can talk after. Something strange is going on..I don't know if, if I'm going insane or if something happened when that wall fell on me, but I need you to be okay, that's all that matters.." he finished and Hermione felt an intense wave of protectiveness..and something else. It felt like..

But that couldn't be..she wasn't ready to believe what Dumbledore had told her just yet and besides there was more pressing matters to attend to than Fred Weasley's feelings for her.

She quickly drank the potion and immediately felt her head clear. Judging by Fred's face, he also felt the magic of the potion, but instead of feeling relieved, he just became more confused. Well, it was time to tell him what was going on. Better to pull off the bandaid quickly, like her mother used to tell her.

A wave of longing passed through Hermione as she thought of her parents and before she could subdue her feelings, Hermione saw that Fred's face mirrored her in her longing..this was going to be absolutely dreadful.

Sharing in her feelings, Fred also became nervous and dreaded the upcoming conversation, although he had no idea why. This is what he had been waiting for, so why were his feelings all over the place? He was longing for..the Grangers? That couldn't be right..they were perfectly pleasant people, but they were the last thing on his mind. His head had been cleared when Hermione drank the potion, but his thoughts just kept getting more and more strange..

He needed to talk to Hermione. He needed to tell her his feelings for her, before his head started getting full of strange feelings again. They had both come too close to death in the past 12 hours and he wasn't going to let her die without knowing that he loved her. He loved her.

Hermione, feeling Fred's emotions, finally gained the courage to tell him the truth.

"Hermione, I.."

"Fred," Hermione started, cutting him off, "I used an illegal spell. I had too. I saw you get cursed and fall and I saw the wall explode and crush you. I had read about this binding spell in Grimmauld Place a couple months ago and I knew that if I could do it, you'd be okay. So I did..I'm so sorry Fred. I wouldn't have done it if I had known another way to protect you.." she let out with a sob and tried to push away from his chest. He only gripped her tighter. Didn't she know by now that if she was in trouble or crying he'd always be there to hold and protect her, even if she didn't particularly like or agree with him?

A wave of panic jolted him out of his thoughts. It didn't even feel like it was his _own_ panic. Why should he be panicking—he had no reason to panic. Hermione was alive; he was alive; George was alive. Nothing should be causing him to panic but he couldn't shake the thought that someone else's emotions were being forced into his body..

Realizing what Hermione had just said, the entire speech lasting hardly 10 seconds, Fred knew they had a whole new problem than just defeating the Dark Lord, even if he didn't fully understand what the spell had done. He knew she wasn't lying, Hermione never lied to him. He had to admit to himself that he had been feeling rather odd emotions since the younger witch had regained consiousness. Was it her feelings that he was experiencing? There was no way; the only form of binding he knew of was through marriage. Had she..?

"Mione..are we married?" He surprised himself with how calm his voice sounded. He was anything but calm. Frightened, confused, even a bit excited was more like it.

She chucked without humor, "No, this is more powerful, more ancient magic..We're.."

Hermione was cut off by a horrifying scream that was so full of emotion that both witch and wizard had goosebumps all over their bodies.

It was Ginny.

Hermione could hear the Dark Lord cackling as she jumped off of the cot and tore out of Fred's embrace running towards the Grand Entrance to Hogwarts.

As Fred tried to follow, he discovered that he couldn't get out of the cot that he and Hermione had shared. He was bound to the bed by some sort of spell and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't stand up.

"Hermione, don't.." Fred began with his own panic rising in his voice. She couldn't leave him, he had only just gotten her back.

With one last look at Fred, Hermione ran out of the healing ward towards the Grand Entrance.

She had to find Harry.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

"HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!" the Dark Lord yelled in triumph.

Everything seemed to blur around her. She couldn't feel George's arms around her. She couldn't hear him asking her why Fred wasn't with her. She didn't even see the Death Eaters laughing all around them.

She was suddenly jerked out of her thoughts by a wave of anxiety that coursed throughout she and Fred's bond. She didn't have time to think about that right now. She had to get to Harry.

As she began to rush towards Voldemort, she noticed that Neville had the Sorting Hat on his head, covering his eyes. What was he doing?

Before she even realized that Voldemort had his wand pointed straight at her, the Sorting Hat was engulfed in flames.

"Neville!"

"Crucio!"

Hermione fell to the ground at the Dark Lord's feet. It was as though all of her bones were breaking. She was on fire. Writhing on the ground in the broken glass and rubble, she whimpered in pain. She. Would. Not. Scream. She wouldn't give him the pleasure.

After what happened in Malfoy Manor she thought she knew what to expect from the Unforgivable Curse, but Voldemort's curses were much, much worse than Bellatrix's could ever hope to be. It made her spell seem like child's play. As soon as she started to realize that the pain was being lessened by about half, it was gone.

She stayed lying on the ground for what seemed like less than a minute and eternity all at once, when she heard the sound of people dissaperting.

The order wouldn't leave now that Harry was dead, would they? They had to stay and fight. Voldemort was weak, if they could kill the snake then he would be mortal and they could kill him! They had to know that.

She knew most of the DA couldn't apperate, so they weren't the ones that were leaving. What was happening?

She forced her eyelids to open, but it felt as though they were made of lead. It was a struggle to simply lift her eyelids, how was she going to fight the Dark Lord, now that Harry was dead?

Wait, hadn't Dumbledore told her that Harry wasn't dead? Why had Voldemort said that he was then? And why was everyone dissaperating?

When she was finally able to open her eyes, she realized that nearly all of the Death Eaters were gone, and those who made up the Order, the DA, and the remaining students and faculty who were protecting the castle were cheering.

She struggled to sit up, but the effects of the curse were starting to lessen. As she pushed herself into the sitting position, she realized that she was able to stand on her own accord, despite the injuries that both the curse and the shared impact of the falling wall had caused her.

Briefly, she saw the retreating figures of the Malfoys. As she turned back towards the castle, with a bit of bitter triumph, she realized that the battle was still raging around her. Harry was dueling Voldemort and Neville, who was not burned in the slightest, was trying to kill the snake.

Curses were flying in all directions around her. Flashes of red and green hit witches, wizards and the walls surrounding them. The grand building that had seen all of her best memories from the first time she stepped foot on its grounds was being reduced to mere rubble.

Before she was able to clear away her nostalgic thoughts and get back to the more pressing matter at hand, she heard a very familiarly unpleasant voice shout behind her. It was one of the three voices that had relentlessly teased her throughout her years at Hogwarts. One that had caused so much emotional stress that Hermione, when left alone to her own devices, actually considered herself a 'mudblood.'

"You should have just died when the Dark Lord cursed you, you filthy mudblood. You just couldn't let good be good enough could you? I'll kill you. I'LL KILL YOU!" Goyle's voice rang out behind her.

"Crabbe is DEAD because of you! He's DEAD because of you and your Order! And you're here just walking around like you have the right! You're a filthy-pathetic-excuse for a witch," he continued angrily.

Hermione, realizing that Goyle was thinking irrationally, scrambled around trying to find her wand. An irrational Death Eater was even more dangerous than normal.

She did have it. She must have dropped it when she..

When she bound herself to Fred. Her wand was back in the Great Hall. She couldn't turn her back to Goyle to go and get it. She couldn't protect herself.

"Goyle.."

"Sectumsempra!"

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

Fred was losing his mind being bound in the cot. He knew he was hurt, but he also knew that if what Hermione said was true, then so was she.

Poppy was furious when she realized the spell she had cast only forced one of the occupants in the cot to stay in the ward. She didn't want any of the injured to go fight and further harm themselves, but no matter how hard Fred protested that he was fine, a simple diagnostic spell showed otherwise. He had multiple broken ribs, internal bleeding, and multiple lacerations and bruises.

Finding out what was wrong with him only made him worry more.

Before he could argue with the mediwitch again, a wave of pain pulsed through his body. It felt as though he was on fire. Like all of the bones in his body were both healing and snapping simultaneously. He felt like his skin was being burned and pulled and cut all at the same time. He couldn't help but scream. He had never felt any pain like this before. What was happening? This felt like what he had heard the..

Hermione was being tortured. He wasn't sure how he knew it but he knew it. Before he could even yell out her name, George was at his side and the pain stopped.

George. George was here, he was going to be okay.

"George.."

"FRED! What's going on? What's happening?" George asked quickly, the screams of his brother echoing in his ears, "What happened to you Freddie? You were supposed to be guarding the secret passages with me? I turned around and.." he broke off with a sob.

"George, listen to me. You have to go find Hermione. Something is.."

"You want me to go find Hermione? What? She's near the Grand Entrance Fred, she's fine. I asked her where you were and she ran off, but I noticed the cuts on her arm were wrapped. I didn't know where you were but I thought that if you were hurt…I don't even know what happened to you! One minute you were standing right next to me and Percy and the next you were gone, THEN I finally find you screaming in one of Pomfrey's cots! I'm not leaving you! There's no way.."

"Please George you have to find her. Something's happening," he broke off with a gasp, "You have to find her. I'll explain everything when you get back, Georgie, please.." Fred pleaded, the panic evident in his voice. If George didn't go get Hermione, Fred was going to hurt himself, or the mediwitch.

"Okay! Fine! But do not leave this bed, do you understand? I expect you to be right here when I get back with Hermione.." George finally conceded.

As George left the room, Fred was once again plagued with a panic that wasn't his own. What was happening to Mione?

Before he could even try to distinguish her emotions from his own, an additional wave of pain slashed through his body. He looked down and saw cuts being formed of their own accord all over his body.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

 **A/N:**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and keeping up with this story! It is actually my first, so if you have any ideas on how to make it better or if you just really like it please let me know! Constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome!**

 **A quick reminder… I do not own anything that you recognize! Anything Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and only J.K. Rowling!**

 **Please Read/Review/Follow/Favorite! I will be trying to update every day, so stay tuned in!**


	4. Chapter 4

What's Your Plan?

Chapter 4 – Explanations are in Order

By the time that George had found the writhing Hermione, stuplified Goyle, and carried her back to Madam Pomfrey's infirmary, both she and Fred had lost extreme amounts of blood. Madam Pomfrey, busy working on mending the still deranged third years, had yet to notice the state of the elder twin.

"Poppy! Poppy! She's Hurt! Hermione's hurt! Goyle cursed her and she's steadily losing blood! I keep trying to hold pressure to her wounds, but it's not stopping.. I don't know what to do!" George yelled frantically as he ran through the arch that led into the healing ward of the castle. If his words hadn't caught the mediwitch's attention, then his blood covered robes and hands certainly did. His white shirt was drenched red with Hermione's blood and the young witch looked as pale as the Grey Lady. The aged mediwitch was stunned. She had never seen so many sever injuries in one day as she had this day. She also had never seen so many deaths. "Did you hear what I said Pomfrey? She's dying!" George yelled a second time, causing the experienced healer to break out of her startled stupor.

Fred was silent.

He was trying his best not to show his injuries to the healer, however the room was starting to spin and the edges of his vision were starting to go black. He didn't want to distract her from healing Hermione. She was the one that got hit with the curse; she was the one that needed healing.

His silence, however, caused George to look over at him in panic. He knew under any other circumstance he would be fighting to get out of the cot that he had been strapped to, but he couldn't find the energy to pretend. He barely had the energy needed to keep his eyes open and that was quickly becoming too hard for him.

George was at his side in an instant. Once he noticed that his brother wasn't fighting to get to Hermione, he knew something was wrong. After looking over and seeing his twin lying halfway off the cot, paler than Hermione even, he quickly did a diagnostic spell similar to the one Madam Pomfrey had done to him earlier.

George hissed. He had seen Hermione's injuries, he knew how badly she was hurt, but why hadn't Poppy taken care of his brother while he had gone to find her? Had she known that he was this badly injured?

One look at Fred's face told him everything he needed to know. No, Poppy had no idea, Fred was hiding his injuries so that she could focus on the others that were injured. Like Hermione.

Pulling back Fred's robes, George was able to see the mangled torso that belonged to his twin. He began to hold pressure and started screaming at the mediwitch.

"Poppy! Fred's hurt as well! It's the same thing as Hermi.."

"Stop it George! Hermione needs to be attended first. She needs to be sa.."

"Like hell Freddie, I almost lost you once tonight I'm not goi.."

George stopped in the middle of his sentence. Fred wasn't sure what was going on, but George was staring at his stomach like he was growing another twin. When he looked down, Fred realized with a shock that the slashes that littered his body were closing, leaving feint pink scars in their place.

"Freddie.."

"I'm not sure either Georgie.." He replied slowly, not meeting his brother's gaze. He had never lied to his brother, but he wasn't sure of the sort of trouble Hermione could get into if people found out that she had bound them to each other.

Hermione.

"George," Fred started, braking his twin out of his shell-shocked stare, "George, where's Hermione? Is she okay?" George blinked slowly a couple of times, still obviously stunned by what had just occurred to his twin.

"George! Where is Hermione!?"

"Quiet down you lot; she's fine Mr. Weasley. I didn't realize how many injuries she had suffered when you brought her in earlier. She had more than just those flesh wounds..she was..well her injuries mirrored yours very nearly. But not to worry dear," she said quickly after seeing the looks of worry on both twins faces, "I healed those as well. She needs to rest, as do you Fred. And you too George."

"I'm fine Madam Pomfrey. I have to go help the others. Voldemort is still out there and they need all the.."

"Voldemort is dead, George," an oddly calm and airy voice responded from the other side of the room. Luna Lovegood sat with her head wrapped in a large bandage that completely covered her right eye. "Neville killed the snake with the Sword of Gryffindor and then Harry killed You-Know-Who in the courtyard. I was nearby you see, so when Voldemort's spell rebounded and hit the wall I was standing near, a piece of glass from the window cut near my eye. I'll be fine, I just didn't want it to get infected with Trigmys..they're nasty little things.."

"Oh..Thats great Luna, about Voldemort..not about your eye..or the Tigmees?.."George began. Before he could think of something to add, Lee Jordan ran into the ward yelling the good news to the twins and the unconscious Hermione. With that Madam Pomfrey kicked both he and George out of the infirmary stating that both Hermione and his twin needed rest and that they could return in a couple of hours when the adrenaline from the battle had been removed from their system.

George argued with the mediwitch, but as he was beginning to draw his wand he spared a quick glance to his brother and noticed that he was already asleep.

With that, George stormed out of the healing ward to go find Harry and the rest of his family. They had actually done it. The Dark Lord was gone and he needed to tell each one how much they meant to him..even Percy. But if Fred thought he was going to get away without telling him what the hell happened to him, well he was even more stupid than he looked.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

 _Fred was back in he and his brother's flat above their joke shop on Diagon Alley. Sitting down on the deep red plush couch in the living room, he could smell someone cooking in the kitchen. As he got up to go investigate, he came across a picture sitting on the mantle above the fireplace in the center of the room._

 _It was a picture of George, Katie Bell, Hermione, and himself all standing and laughing at the Burrow. They were all dressed nicely and it looked as though they were in front of the tent they had used for Bill and Fleur's wedding. But that couldn't be right could it? He and Hermione had barely anytime to talk that night before Kingsley's patronus had interrupted the party to change their lives forever._

 _So whose wedding..?_

" _That was an amazing night," a voice came from behind him, startling him out of his thoughts. It was Hermione. Before he could even turn around to look at her she was continuing, "Ginny looked beautiful as always, but it was Harry's smile when he saw her for the first time walking down the aisle that was the most stunning. He hadn't had a smile like that since Cedric died our fourth year," she paused remembering the deceased boy._

 _Fred took that moment to turn around and look at the witch standing behind him. She looked older than he had last seen her, but no less beautiful. She was wearing one of his older Weasley sweaters, the bottom hem reaching halfway to her knees. She had red fluffy slippers on her feet and short gold pajama shorts, barely visible under the sweater. She was perfect and the way she was looking at him made his ears turn red. She felt the same way he did. She was studying his body from head to toe and, judging by the look on her face, she liked what she saw._

 _Before he could say or do anything however she had grabbed his hand and was drawing him into the kitchen._

" _Honey, I made your favorite! It probably won't be as good as Mrs. Weasley's though," she paused, "She tried to tach me a couple weeks after the honeymoon but I could never get it quite right.."_

 _Honeymoon? Honey? What was going on? Fred wasn't complaining but he knew that he and Hermione were not married. He hadn't even told the witch he oved her, so there was no way.._

 _THIS WAS A DREAM! It had to be that was the only explanation.._

" _Fred, are you listening to me? I have something kind of important to tell you.."_

 _Fred wasn't paying attention. Dream-Hermione had just bent over to pull freshly baked rolls out of the oven and he knew no matter how delicious his dream-mother's cooking was, there was no way it could get better than Hermione's._

" _Fred! I swear! I'm trying to tell you something important, that is going to change our lives forever mind you, and you can't stop staring at my arse for two seconds to listen to me!"_

 _Fred decided that he did not like making dream-Hermione angry with him, so he put on a sheepish grin and apologized._

 _Dream-Hermione moved around the island in the middle of the kitchen to get as close as she could to him. She grabbed his face with both hands and gave him a quick peck on the lips, "I'm pregnant Freddie."_

" _Pregnant..?" he repeated confused, the words not registering in his clouded mind; Hermione still had her hands on his cheeks and the light kiss she had just given him had struck him dumb._

 _Pregnant. Pregnant? This was all going too quickly for his liking. He needed to wake up. He needed to tell Hermione how he felt about her. He needed to experience this dream in another 3-5 years. He needed to not be here right now._

" _Yeah Freddie, we're pregnant," she replied kissing him again. This kiss was deeper and had more feverish. His body reacted on its accord, one hand landing on the small of her back, the other in her hair. As he was rubbing his hand along the hem of the oversized sweater the witch in his arms froze._

 _When he opened his eyes, he locked gazes with a very confused Hermione._

" _Fr-Fred, what's..what's going on?" she asked, dropping her hands from his face._

" _You're pregnant!" he replied airily, but confusion starting to cloud his mind, "You just said you were pregnant.."_

" _Fred, I..I think your dreaming.." Hermione replied timidly._

" _Well duh I'm dreaming Mione..but how do_ you _know that I'm dreaming? You were just saying.."_

" _The bond.."_

" _Hermione you need to tell me what the bloody hell is going on, am I dreaming? Are you here? Are you pregnant? Are Ginny and Harry married? I'm not sure what's.."_

" _Yes, I think you are dreaming, I'm not sure how I'm in here though," she paused blushing, "no I'm not pregnant, and no Ginny and Harry aren't married..although I don't think it'll be too long before they are engaged.."_

" _Hermione, tell me what's going on," Fred interrupted rather harshly._

" _I think it would be better if I showed you. You know how to perform Legilimency correct?" she asked nervously, his previous tone startling her, "George told me you both had been practicing before you opened the shop."_

" _Yes, but Hermione, I don't want to invade your mind and I don't even know what I'm looking for. I don't want to search your mind, it'll feel like I'm taking advantage of you, like I'm..I'm..attacking you.." he rambled, all traces of his previous anger at the young witch disappearing as soon as he realized he had frightened her._

" _The best way for you to understand what's going on is for you to see everything I know. Everything Dumbledore knows as well." She paused to let the fact that she had spoken to their deceased Headmaster sink into Fred's dumbstruck mind. "I know the risks Fred and I'm not worried, I trust you."_

 _She handed him his wand as she sat next to him near the counter in his dream-flat. Fred knew there was no point in arguing. He had asked for answers and she was allowing him to have full access to her mind. If he truly wanted to know what this 'binding' had done to them, he needed to know everything._

 _Locking eyes with his bright little witch, Fred whispered the spell, hoping that she would be able to forgive him after he was done roaming in her mind._

" _Legilimens."_

 _-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-_

 _Hermione saw memory after memory pass in front of her eyes. She was in the Ministry, Malfoy Manor, Shell Cottage. She saw Ron leaving her and Harry. She saw Voldemort torturing her in front of the castle. She saw a dead Harry. She saw Goyle hexing her._

 _Finally, she saw what Fred had been searching for. She was in an astoundingly clean King's Cross Station._

 _After what seemed like an eternity, she the pressure in her head was relieved and she felt Fred pull out of her mind._

 _When she opened her eyes Fred was staring at her. He was pale and slightly sweaty from the intensity of the spell, but he didn't look angry. Before she could even blink he had wrapped his arms around her exhausted form and was whispering jumbled words in her ear._

 _As she got over the shock of his reaction, she was able to make out the words he had been whispering to her._

 _It was her name. Just her name, over and over again._

 _She embraced him tighter and started running her fingers through his hair, not sure whether he needed comforting or something else._

 _Soon, she got him quieted down and as he pulled away, not moving his arms from around her sides, he looked into her eyes and she saw what she had been trying to ignore the entire time the battle was occurring._

 _Love; she saw love in the mischievous Weasley twin's eyes._

 _Before she could say anything, Fred cleared his throat._

" _So, what are we going to do now?"_

" _Now, Freddie..we wake up."_

 _-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-_

When Fred woke up, the first thing he noticed was that it was nearly pitch black in the infirmary. The only light visible in the room was coming the candles floating far above their heads and the stars on the enchanted ceiling of the castle.

The second thing he noticed was the bright-eyed witch staring at him from one cot over. He sat up slowly, still aware of the injuries that he had sustained. They were healed, but still sore. He faintly heard a sharp intake of breath as he irritated one of his broken ribs. He knew the gasp wasn't his own and once he was able to sit up fully, he met Hermione's eyes and he remembered that she could feel everything he felt. In other words, he was going to have to be more careful.

Hermione, with a quick blush, broke the gaze to look around the healing ward. Fred, taking her lead, looked around and noticed the people that littered the floor around both cots. His heart immediately constricted with the thought of the immense amount of injuries that their side had taken. Sure, they had won the war, but at what price?

Before he finished assessing the number of people in the infirmary, he noticed that all the people around him had the characteristic Weasley red hair, save one messy black haired boy that was leaning against Hermione's cot. George, Ginny, Ron, Charlie, Bill, and his mom and dad were all fast asleep on the floor surrounding his bed. Poppy must have let them in while he and Hermione were unconscious.

"Fred.." Hermione whispered nervously from her nearby bed.

"Yes love?"

"Can I..would you mind if I-I..um.." she stopped and indicated to his bed embarrassed. She was a Gryffindor, she was tortured by the Dark Lord himself and yet she couldn't ask Fred Weasley, the guy she was literally bound to, if she could go lay in his cot with him. She was pathet..

"Of course!" He whisper-shouted in excitement startling her out of her thoughts, "But if you can just hop out of that cot without being stuck to it like I am, Poppy Pomfrey is going to have some serious explaining to do.."

Hermione easily jumped out of her sick-bed, much to Fred's annoyance. Without waking Harry or any of the Weasley's she quietly crawled into bed with the eldest twin.

Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. It was as though they were hugging, and despite not having talked, save the dream and the slight explanation after she originally woke up from casting the spell, in the past 10 months, it wasn't awkward at all. It was comfortable, it was right. And Fred was starting to doze off.

"Freddie.."

"Yeah Mione?"he replied sleepily.

"We can't tell anyone..I-I'm not sure everything that the binding does, but until we know, no one can know."

After a pause, he replied nervously "I'm going to tell George.."

"I know. I didn't consider him in the 'anyone' Fred. Just like I didn't consider Harry. George is your twin and Harry and I, we're as close as siblings. There are no secrets between us. We also know that they wouldn't tell anyone, especially if we asked them not to," she paused for a moment, "George and Harry, but that's all. Deal?"

"Deal." He replied, finally letting a dreamless sleep consume him.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

George was awakened by the rustling of blankets. When he opened his eyes, he saw the witch he had brought into the infirmary earlier, dying from one of the Death-Eater-Spawn's curses, silently trying to sneak her way into his twin's bed.

Of course, they _would_ be trying to sneak into each other's beds. They couldn't keep their bloody hands off of each other, even when there was a battle and they both suffered near fatal injuries.

Both of injuries that the witch and wizard had endured would have been fatal to the strongest soldier, to probably Dumbledore himself. How was it that neither had died? George was thankful to whatever higher power there was that neither his twin nor his younger brother's best mate had died, but he still didn't understand how either had survived their injuries.

And when Hermione came in after being cursed, his twin looked as though he had been cursed as well. When Madam Pomfrey healed the witch, Fred had been healed simultaneously.

Something was going on.

He shot one more glance at the pair now embraced in Fred's small cot. They were surrounded by a faint blue glow that apparently only George saw, with the rest of his family and Harry still fast asleep.

Yes, Fred and Hermione were going to have _a lot_ to explain in the morning.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

 **A/N: Thank you all so much for following and favoriting and reading and reviewing! You have no idea how much it means to me knowing that you are all enjoying this story! Please keep it going! As before, Constructive criticism and just any review really is always, ALWAYS welcome!**

 **Just a reminder, our girl J.K. Rowling owns all of the characters and anything you recognize, if you don't recognize it, it is mio!**

 **Thanks so much again guys!**


	5. Chapter 5

What's Your Plan?

Chapter 5 – Secrets' Out

"Why are they glowing? They shouldn't be glowing!"

"Hush Ron! You'll wake them up!"

"It's nearly 11! They should be awake by now! And I want to know why they're glowing! Pomfrey said they didn't come in here glowing!"

"Oh and you're the expert on how long someone whose been cursed and had a wall fall on them needs to sleep for? So glad you could make it! We've been expecting you!" Ginny whispered sarcastically.

"Shh! We need to let my twin sleep! Besides Ronald, they've been glowing since she crawled into bed with him last night."

"What? When she crawled into bed with..are they together?" Mrs. Weasley asked, letting her excitement distract her for a moment.

"DOES IT MATTER? THEYRE GLOWING! BLODDY HELL WOMAN LIGHT IS COMING FROM THEIR BODIES! TURN-OFF-THE-LIGHTS-AND-YOU-WOULD-STILL-SEE TYPE OF GLOWING!" Ron bellowed at his mother, no longer whispering in the slightest.

"SHH!" Madam Pomfrey hushed from across the ward, cutting off Mrs. Weasley's angry reply.

Glowing? What? Hermione started to stir. Struggling to wake up, she was starting hear the voices of the Weasley's and Harry around her.

With a start, she bolted up in Fred's cot with a bright red blush adorning her cheeks. She was sleeping with Fred and his entire family was staring at them. This could not get any worse.

Oh wait, they just fought in one of the bloodiest wars in wizard history, AND she and Fred were bonded for life. It also seemed as though keeping said bond a secret was not going to happen.

Turns out it could get worse.

"Hermione, dear, how are you feeling?" Mrs. Weasley started in a motherly tone.

"I.."

"Hey, Mione," Fred whispered in a husky voice as he wrapped his arms around her waist, still half asleep, "I lo.." He cut off as he opened his eyes and noticed the bewildered expression on his family's faces.

"Hey Fred?"

"Yeah George?"

"Why are you and Hermione shining brighter than Harry's Patronus charm?"

"What are you talking about again?" Fred asked groggily, still half asleep.

"Oh nothing. Just.." George faded out, indicating the slowly disappearing glow that incased the couple on the bed.

As Fred was trying to wrap his head around what was going on, and what he had almost said to Hermione, she looked down at their still interlocked bodies.

Oh Merlin..

"I think someone needs to start explaining." Arthur Weasley said authorially from behind the gawking group of red heads.

And so, Fred and Hermione, unwrapping themselves from each other's embrace, starting from the beginning in Grimauld Place, keeping their fingers interlocked—and a slight glow—the entire time.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

"Huh, it didn't say anything about glowing in the dark in that book did it Hermione?" Harry asked warily, chuckling because he already knew the answer.

Before Hermione could reply Ginny quickly cut in.

"An illegal binding spell..Blimey Hermione! You're a bad ass!" She exclaimed, hitting Hermione on the back.

"Ow Gin.." Fred said from his position next to the 'bad-ass' witch.

"So it's true then? You're..bonded to one another?" Ron asked, noticing his brother's wince, with sadness in his voice. He knew Hermione and Fred had a thing for each other before they went hunting horcruxes, but he always thought that after the war, he and Hermione would end up together. That was now out of the question.

"Yes Ron. Me and Hermione are now bound. I feel everything she feels. Her emotions, if they're strong enough, her pain, her happiness, I feel _her_."

"So I guess it's not just you and me anymore huh Gred?"

"Forge, baby, you know you'll always be my number one!" Fred responded with a wink to his twin, resulting in his twin's smile. He had a feeling George would be upset over the bond with Hermione, but less was more with George, and he could feel lightly through his twin bond that Fred was being sincere. Even though he and Mione were now an _item_ he was always going to be his twin. Nothing would change that.

"So, Hermione," Mr. Weasley began, "you already stated that you aren't 100% sure of the consequences, both good and, bad that this spell may have caused. Correct?" he asked, deep in thought.

"Yes sir."

"You could have died along with Fred. And yet you still bound to him? Knowing that it was a possibility?"

"Yes sir."

"Oh honey!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, cutting off her husband and startling the passing mediwitch, "Thank you! You were willing to die for my Fred!" She rushed to grab Hermione, only releasing her when she saw both her son and adopted daughter wince. "You really do feel everything she feels?" she quietly asked her son.

"Yeah Mom.."

"Even when..even when V-Voldemort Crucioed her?" she spoke even more quietly until Fred had to strain to hear her. It seemed as though his parents wanted to play that muggle game, twenty questions?

"Yeah, but Hermione said that it took some of the pain away from her, so it was okay. It was worth it." Hermione could feel his love for her filing their bond and she blushed.

"And you took the pain away from Freddie when the wall fell on him Hermione?"

She didn't want to explain that she had actually took half of his death away, not just the pain, so she simply nodded in her direction.

"We're going to have to figure out a way to block the bond. What if one of them gets hurt again! What if one of them kisses someone? Hermione! You don't want to feel Fred kissing some other bird, do you?" George cut in.

Before Hermione could respond, Fred scoffed. "Like I'd kiss anyone else, really George? I've been pining after this witch since her fourth year, she's stuck with me whether she wants to be or not!" he ended smugly, winking at the blushing Hermione. "He does have a point though.."Fred mused thoughtfully, "what if we want to prank her..and she uses the bond to thwart our plans! It'll be worse than when she was a prefect!"

Everyone laughed at Fred's attempt to lighten the mood, but one look around them immediately sobered the crowd. Witches and wizards of all ages were laying in cots and on the floors all around them.

"It's time I get out of this cot and let someone else have it Poppy!" Fred grumbled loudly at the mediwitch who was beginning to peel back his bandages to assess the remaining damage.

"Fine Fred, you may go. You too Miss Granger." She waved her wand over the pair and after a slight _pop,_ Fred jumped out of his cot and ran to the loo.

As soon as they released hands, the glow completely disappeared, much to the Weasley's shock. Hermione and Fred didn't seem to notice however, still having the remaining feeling of comfort and closeness in their bond.

Hermione, did notice the mediwitches wand though, and remembered that she had lost _her_ wand when she feinted after binding Fred and herself together.

"Ginny," Hermione said quietly, "can you come with me to go look for my wand? I think its somewhere in the Great Hall.."

"Sure Mione," Ginny replied, "I kinda wanted to talk to you anyway.." she added so quietly that only Hermione and Harry, who had one hand on the small of the red-headed witches back, could hear her.

Hermione nodded and walked towards the arch leading to the exit of the infirmary.

Leaving the other Weasley's and The-Boy-Who-Lived to be inspected by Madam Pomfrey, the duo left in search for Hermione's wand, leaving Fred with a feeling of anxious determination in the pit of his stomach, that he knew he wasn't the owner of.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

"HE WHAT?"

"SHH! Hermione! I don't want other people to know yet!"

"Generva Weasley! My two best friends are getting married, I think I have a reason to be excited! Wait..Are you not excited?"

"NO! I am! It's just.."

"Gin.."

"I just don't want to be too happy, you know? I feel insensitive. Remus and Tonks died. You and Fred almost bloody died Hermione! Teddy has no parents. And now I'm engaged. Merlin's bloody left pinkey toe I'm excited! But I can't exactly show how excited I am. Collin is dead..Dennis lost his baby brother.. So many people we know are dead Hermione. Lavender is dead too..I-I just.." Breaking off in a sob Ginny stopped walking and clung to her best friend.

"Listen Ginny, people need a reason to be happy right now," Hermione nervously tried to reassure her best girl friend, "They're still happy about winning the battle, but that will soon wear off and they'll realize the few that we were forced to leave behind. Dennis lost his brother, but he knows he fought brilliantly and died a true Gryffindor. Teddy will know how brave, how strong, how _loyal_ his parents were. He'll know that they died heroes. He has Harry and all of us, we'll be sure he never forgets it."

As the girls continued their walk into the Great Hall, the first thing they noticed was all of the rubble. There was not a spot of the ornate floor that wasn't covered in rocks, dust, or blood. When they reached the spot where Hermione cast the spell on Fred, they saw what was once a beautiful wand, cracked into 3 pieces from what looked like a fallen chandelier.

"Mione.. I'm so sor.."

"It's done. I'll just have to go to Olivander's once he reopens his shop. It's not a big deal.." Hermione replied shakily. It _was_ a big deal. That wand had survived hunting horcruxes, the Battle of Hogwarts, and had her back more times than she could count. It wasn't just a wand, it was an extension of her arm, a reminder that she had the power to do anything. And now it was gone.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

Fred felt her dread before he even made it back to his family in the hospital wing. How could one girl feel so many emotions? First he was excited for Merlin knows why, then nervous, then filled with dread. What was going on with that witch?

He started to walk through the arch and he realized that his family hadn't heard him come in. Before he could make his announcement about becoming The-Boy-Who-Lived-Part-Two, he heard them whispering.

"We need to figure out how to break this stupid bond!" Ron, of course, whisper-shouted.

"Did you not see the looks on their faces? Or listen to what Hermione and Fred said? They LOVE each other Ron!I thought it needed to be broken as well until I noticed how happy my— _our_ —brother is! I'll do anything to make sure that my twin stays happy. Until he tells me that he wants to get rid of the bond, I won't help you."

Fred knew his twin always had his back, but it was nice to hear him say it without him knowing that he was listening. But would he want to get rid of the bond? If given the chance, would he want to lose the constant presence of Hermione?

 _No_.

As long as he could take away half of her suffering, which hopefully would never happen again, he was not going to break their bond. It was out of the question.

"What are we doing?" Hermione whispered in his ear causing him to jump and blush. His reaction causing his little sister to laugh uncontrollably. His family looked up and noticed the two red heads and the curly brunette in the archway.

"Well, I was attempting to prank my dear big brother Percy, sweet, sweet Hermione, however, my little sister here seems to want to cause me more suffering. I bet you can feel it too huh? Through the bond? You need to apologize to her Ginevra.." he faded with a pout and an impatient look at the red head standing next to him.

"Is now really the time Fred?" His mother said with a strained voice as the trio walked towards his family. "You and Hermione just got off of your dea-dea..your injury beds and now you're trying to play pranks on your brother?"

"It's always time for a prank Mum!" George yelled from her other side.

Fred took Hermione's hand, encasing them in a blue glow, stopping both his mother and Percy's reply.

"Huh, well, I guess we won't be able to touch each other to much in public.." Fred whispered to the petite witch, while his family just stared at them with their mouths slightly open.

"Hmm? Why not?" Hermione whispered with a blush.

"Well, Mione..um..you're glowing." Harry said slowly, as not to spook the girl.

"No I'm not! I think I would have noticed if I was..shit.." she faded, looking down at both she and Fred's intertwinded hands. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Hermione!" George exclaimed feigning horror.

"So.." Mr. Weasley cut in, not having said a word since the earlier explanation of the spell, "Did you find your wand Hermione?" he finished, obviously trying to take the attention away from the elephant in the room.

With an internal groan she simply stated, "Yes. Yes I did." And pulled out the broken pieces that once had defeated Death itself.

Both Harry and Ron, knowing the significance of her vined wand both gasped.

"Well," Harry said after a moment, "You can always have the Elder Wand..you know..if you want it..?"

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

 **A/N: So sorry it took me so long to update! (Started my Senior Semester in college!) Thank you all so much for following and favoriting my story, it means the WORLD to me! I hope you are all enjoying it! If you can, please leave a review and tell me how you think it's going so far, or what you may want to see in the future!**

 **I know I said that I'd update every day, BUT that obviously hasn't been the case, so I'm going to try and update once a week!**

 **Thank you all again for reading! Also, big thanks to J.K. Rowling for creating (and owning) this word that I'm getting the chance to play around with!**

 **Also, HUGE thanks to my reviewers, y'all are the ones who make me want to update ASAP!**


	6. Chapter 6

What's Your Plan?

Chapter 6 – Powerful Wands and Three Headed Dogs

"You still have the Elder Wand Harry?" Ron exclaimed. He had figured that after Harry had fixed his wand he had hidden it or gotten rid of it. The prospect that the wand was still so close made him eager to see it again. He had grown up hearing stories all about the brothers who defied death, after all.

"Yes. I figured that some wands would have been broken during the battle and if I could fix them, I would."

"Harry! Do you think..you could, maybe, mend my wand? Not that I don't appreciate you offering me the most powerful wand in the world," Hermione chuckled. She didn't know anyone who would turn down the opportunity to be the wizard or witch that was the master of the Elder Wand, but she knew that no wand, no matter how powerful, would compare to the one her parents bought her when she was 11.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled, "You're turning down the _Elder Wand._ You do realize that?" His previous excitement from hearing about the wand was marred by a twinge of jealousy. She was turning down THE Elder Wand.

"I do, but I don't think that anyone should have that type of power. We don't exactly need another Vol-Voldemort do we?" she said slightly stuttering over the dark wizard's name.

"You're right Mione," Harry mused, "After I mend your wand, we'll burry it. Where it belongs, with Dumbledore."

Without hesitation, or waiting for anyone to object, Harry pointed the tip of the most powerful wand in the world at the three broken shards of Hermione's wand and whispered the same incantation that he used to fix his own wand not long before he had offered Hermione the Elder Wand. As the pieces started to move and stitch together, the entire Weasley family became transfixed, staring at the incredible magic being performed right in front of them. All but the twins.

As soon as Harry had started whispering the spell, Fred's wand began to glow a bright green color, the same color that Hermione's wand was glowing as it mended itself.

"This can be good, Gred."

Nothing could ever be normal could it?

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

As the Golden trio made their way back to the castle after returning the wand to their deceased Headmaster, and adding charms to ensure that no one could ever find, much to Ron's dismay, they were greeted at the Grand Entrance by the rest of the Weasley family and Kingsley Shaklebolt. Hermione immediately recognized the feeling that had been plaguing her gut while she was with her friends: hopelessness.

"We have to help! They still need us here.."

"..finding injured…Lee.."

"..hurt as well..go rest.."

"Hey," Hermione whispered to Fred as she and her two best friends walked over to join the group. "What's going on? What's Kingsley saying to make your mom so angry _?" And why do you feel hopeless?_

"He wants us to go back to the Burrow..," he paused, "He said there is enough people here helping and that we've had our 'fair share of injuries.'" Fred scoffed. "Everyone has! They need help gathering all the others. There is still so many people missing Mione..They still haven't found Lee.." he trailed off, stifling a sob for his friend.

Before Hermione could try to reassure and comfort him, Kingsley cut her off with a rather loud sigh.

"Listen to me Molly, you almost lost Freddie and Hermione," he paused at the groups sudden gasp. How did he know what Hermione had done? "Of course I know. I saw her get tortured just like the rest of you and I saw him get hit by the wall." They all collectively sighed in relief. He knew they were hurt, not bound. "George, Ginny, Percy, Charlie, Bill, Ron and Harry all need to rest as well." He continued a little quieter, so quiet that Hermione had to strain to hear, "Molly, the war is over, but you know they're still going to need you to help them. They need to rest while they can."

With that, Molly Weasley, mother hen, gathered all of her family, both blood and adopted and forced them to apperate to the Burrow, ignoring the protests of the twins and the Golden Trio.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

It had been a couple hours at the Burrow and everyone was starting to get fidgety. Fred and Hermione were sitting next to each other on the love seat, with George and Ron sitting on the floor by their feet playing a rather boring game of Exploding Snap. Harry, Ginny, Percy, and Charlie were squished onto the couch in front of the fireplace and Bill was in the reading chair on the far end of the room. No one was used to just sitting around and doing nothing. They just finished fighting in a war, down time wasn't a luxury you could participate in when you were on the run.

"Hey! Let's go play quidditch!" Ginny yelled into the nearly silent sitting room, causing all of the occupants to jump at the sudden noise.

All the red heads and the one black haired boy immediately perked up as a whole and ran out the door and towards the pitch without another word. It had been nearly a year since they were able to play.

Hermione on the other hand stretched out on the love seat that she now had to herself and opened a random book that she pulled off of the bookshelf near the fireplace. Not five minutes passed and she heard yelling coming closer and closer to the house. She was also starting to feel angrier and angrier as the voices were getting nearer to the Burrow.

"I'm not some sort of invalid! I'm not going to die playing quiditch!" Fred, _How had she known it was Fred?_ , was yelling at who Hermione assumed to be his mother.

"You almost died yesterday! You must have hit your head harder than we thought if you think I am going to allow you to get on that broom!"

"Allow me? Mum I'm almost 21! And I just fought in a bloody war! I'm pretty sure I can make my own decisions!"

"Fredrick Weasley! As long as I am your mother, you will.." Molly broke off as she and Fred walked into the house. "Hermione dear! I didn't see you there! How are you feeling? You must be exhausted.." she trailed off, giving her son a pointed look.

"Hermione.." Fred whispered, all the anger that had filled the bond before immediately disappeared when their eyes met. He forgot all about his previous argument with his mother.

Without either of them noticing, Mrs. Weasley smiled and snuck into the kitchen to begin cooking dinner.

"Hey Fred.." Hermione said lightly. They still hadn't discussed their feelings for one another. It was obvious that there was something there, but neither had addressed it and she was staring to get nervous every time they were left alone together. "Wha.."

"Lets go to my room," Fred said quickly, breaking her off, "Everyone is outside now, but it won't be long before they come in for dinner and I want to talk to you alone for a while. We haven't been alone since.."

"Lead the way," she whispered, standing and taking his hand. She couldn't help but grin when a light blue glow shown around her and the man that was leading her to his bedroom.

 _His bedroom_ … _Bloody Hell._

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

The twins hadn't lived with their mother in quite some time so the room had a slight layer of dust over everything, all the quidditch figures that littered the dresser, the quilts on the beds, the hardwood floors, even the mirrors had a light sheen of dust. But Hermione didn't even notice. Her heart was beating so hard that all she could hear was its quick steady beat pulsing in her ears.

"There's no need to be nervous, love. I really just wanted to talk to you. We haven't had a second to talk since, well since my..dream?" he broke off chuckling at how strange that sounded.

It was now or never. If he didn't tell her now, Fred didn't think he'd ever build up the courage.

"Fred, I.."

"No Mione, can you please just listen for a second?" He cut her off, taking a deep breath and waited until she nodded. "I-I-I adore you Hermione Granger.." He paused, "I'm also stuttering like an idiot.."

"Oh Fred, youre not an idiot! I.."

"No," Fred cut in, "You promised that you'd listen." Here goes nothing. He took a deep breath and began quickly before she could argue, "I know this is crazy Mione, absolutely bonkers..but I was so jealous that Krum got to take you to the ball and then Angelina was so jealous how I kept looking at you," He paused trying to form his thoughts and to figure out a way to talk to her without rambling. He wasn't very good with emotions but he knew he shouldn't be talking about his ex-girlfriend when he was trying to tell Hermione that he was in love with her. So he began again, changing tactics, "In fifth year when you told me how you felt in that secret passage, Hermione I almost backed out! I almost stayed just to stay with you! Then you leave with Boy Wonder and my git of a baby brother and I didn't even know if you were going to come back!" He was rambling again, he paused silently cursing himself, "Don't get me started on when I heard you were at Shell Cottage. Bill wouldn't let me go see you. He didn't know how I felt about you. I don't think I even knew how I felt about you. George did of course," He paused sparing a glance at her expression. When he felt the love she had for him in the pit of his stomach, he continued, "But Mione, I swear I almost killed my brother when he said I couldn't go see you. I knew you were hurt and they wouldn't let me go. Then, then I see you in the Room of Requirement right before the battle and all I want to do is run and grab you and apperate you away from there. But I couldn't. I knew I couldn't do that. You were so brilliant, so determined, so powerful. No I couldn't pull you away from the final battle. Especially when I knew I was going to fight myself." He paused and tried to catch his breath. "Then, I start reliving my best memories. I didn't even know they were memories at the time, you know? And I wake up and you're unconscious at my feet. You don't understand how worried I was. I thought you were dead." He stopped abruptly and started laughing to the point where tears were rolling down his cheeks. "That made zero sense didn't it? I'm going to restart.." he said after catching his breath and noticing her shocked expression.

Before he could continue or even try to start over, Hermione was kissing him.

Immediately, she had her hands tangled in his slightly shaggy hair and was pulling him as close as she could get him to come to her. Fred didn't respond for a second, too shocked at the surprise intensity of the kiss. Once he started to respond to her insistent lips, she moaned and allowed him access into her mouth. Their tongues fought for dominance and before long he had her pressed against the door. His hands were rubbing up and down her sides, stopping at her waist where her shirt was starting to ride up. As soon as his fingers brushed the slightly exposed skin, she gasped breaking the kiss.

"Hermione," he whispered trying to catch his breath, "I'm not sure when it happened, I'm not even sure how it happened honestly, but I am undeniably and ardently in love with you."

She giggled, since when did she _giggle,_ and placed a feather light kiss to his swollen lips. "You know, _Pride and Prejudice_ is my favorite book?"

"Uh..what?" Fred was dumbfounded. He could feel her love for him almost as much as he could feel his love for her, and yet she was talking about books?

"Well..Mr. Darcy says something similar to that to Elizabeth, the main character. I don't know why it popped into my head." She giggled again at his bemused and slightly confused extression. "It's just, I always loved his character, so silent and brooding. And now it's obvious, well it's been obvious for a while..I don't want silent and brooding."

"What do you want?" Fred whispered slowly into her neck, still breathing heavily against her.

"I want a loud, rambunctious, trouble-making, red-headed Weasley twin." She whispered breathlessly back to him.

"Well, I better go fine Geor.."

"Fred," Hermione quickly broke him off, "I love you. I lov.."

And before she could continue, he was kissing her. If the kiss before was considered passionate, then this one was heavenly.

If the pair would have had their eyes open, they would have nearly been blinded by the immense blue light that engulfed them. Being that they did not, they were not shocked by the sudden flare of light near their interlocked hands and its almost instantaneous disappearance, as though it was absorbed by their touch.

With his hands on her hips and her arms around his neck Fred pulled the petite witch towards his bed. She broke off the kiss as he sat her down to catch her breath. Before she could even whisper his name, he had pushed her onto the pillows that had lived on the top of the bed for the last ten months. Locking eyes with her, he climbed on top of her and pressed his body flush to hers. He held all of his body weight with one arm as his other traced down her waist.

All he could think about was that the witch he had been wanting, no needing, for the past 3 years said she loved him back. Hermione loved him just as much as he loved her. He didn't deserve her, no one deserved her, but she had chosen him, she loved _him_. Fred Weasley, mischievous, good-for-nothing, trouble maker. Hermione Granger, brilliant, caring, thoughtful, war- hero, loved him. He was willing to spend his entire life making sure she never regretted it.

Without conscious thought, he was slowly kissing the side of her mouth, tracing his tongue over her bottom lip before gently biting it and moving down her jaw. He stopped to nibble on the place where her neck and her jaw met. Hermione, with both of her hands fisted in his hair pulled him back towards her mouth and kissed him without abandon.

She had never gone this far with anyone, she had never wanted to go this far with anyone, but now, with Fred, she didn't ever want him to stop. Fred Weasely, brilliant, kind, outgoing, loyal, war-hero, loved her. He loved _her._ Hermione Granger, know-it-all, plain, bossy, mudblood. She wasn't sure how it had happened, what high power she had suddenly gotten in good graces with, but one thing she knew without doubt, was that she was going to make sure Fred knew every day just how much he was loved; he was never going to regret falling in love with her.

Her already ragged breathing hitched as Fred's shaky hands started to unbutton the top few buttons of her blouse. Fred paused and looked at her sheepishly, he was pushing her too far. He needed to control himself. He knew that she loved him, but this was all..

Before he could finish the thought, Hermione smiled down at him and nodded her head as she helped him unbutton the last button on her blouse.

As Fred slowly started tracing her clavicle with the tips of his fingers, the pair was startled apart by a loud bang and a sudden increase of light in the dimly lit room.

"Fred! Mom said she thought you.." Gorge trailed off, noticing the state both his twin and Hermione were in. "Well hello there Hermione. Fancy seeing you here.."he teased the blushing witch from the now open doorway.

"George.." Fred growled at his brother as Hermione struggled to redo the buttons on her blouse. "What do you want?" He had never been actually hostile with his twin, and George knew that, so he just chuckled at his obviously snogged brother.

"Well, you see dear twin of mine, I was coming up here to tell you that dinner was done, however I see that you have more pressing matters to attend to.." He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned at the pair. "Truthfully, it's about bloody time, Hermione. If I had to hear one more time about how beauti.."

"Okay George! Need anything else?" Fred cut him off, with a blush that rivaled Hermione's own.

"Just one itsy-bitsy little thing. When, dear brother, did you lot get tattoos?" George asked, staring at Hermione and Fred's interlocked hands expectantly.

Around Fred's wrist was a thin blue marking of what looked like the vines that decorated Hermione's wand. Around the witch's wrist was a matching blue series of marks that resembled the handle of Fred's wand.

"When did..we..what?" Hermione started incredulously, not sure how to phrase her question.

"I didn't..feel..anything.." Fred answered, letting go of Hermione's hand to examine his now tattooed wrist.

"When did..? How? Huh.." Hermione murrmered, taking his wrist and analyzing the markings, "it kind of looks like my wand.."

"So does yours, look like my wand I mean..do you, do you think this is a bond thing?" Fred asked as his face grew pale staring at Hermione's wrist.

"Well," George said loudly, cutting in, "this ought to be fun. How are we going to hide it from the Weasleys? You know..they are a mighty nosey lot, even if they are unnaturally attractive. Don't get me started on their wonderful personalities and sense of humor either. They're actually perfect in all ways, except for maybe that one son, Ronald is it? Yeah he's a git."

"Hey! I resemble that!" Ron yelled at his brother, only catching the last part of George's comment, as he to the restroom to get washed up for dinner.

"Ha. Haaaa. Sorry guys.." George apologized quietly to the witch and wizard glaring at him from the other side of the twin's room. "You know, Hermione, Fred _would_ be awfully upset if you killed me, even if he doesn't particularly look like he would be right now.." he chuckled with a trace of worry in his otherwise joking demeanor.

"Kill? Yeah, I'd be upset. But I won't stop her from hexing you into oblivion.." Fred growled menacingly as he remembered just who had interrupted his snogging session with the brilliant witch.

"Could you to stop it, we have more impo.."

"Fred! George! Get Hermione! Dinner is ready!" Mrs. Weasley yelled from the bottom floor of the Burrow, oblivious to what was going on upstairs.

Fred grabbed Hermione's hand and shrugged past his brother standing sheepishly in the doorway, only pausing when Hermione stopped to whisper in his twin's one good ear.

"You know Georgie," Hermione began sickly sweet, "I didn't forget who interrupted me and Fred earlier. I don't like being embarrassed," she breathed into his ear, causing him to shiver, "I know more than just magic ways to return the favor. Learn to sleep with one eye open."

She then ran down the stairs with Fred in tow, giggling at the terrified look on his twin face as he slowly descended the staircase. George was planning on sitting as far away from the pair, specifically Hermione, as possible.

As he sat down next to his eldest brother Bill, as far away from Hermione as he could possibly could be, he spared a glance in her direction. She looked up from her conversation with his twin, catching his eye and slyly winked at him, causing Fred to shoot pumpkin juice out of his nose as he attempted to stifle his laughter.

All he had been trying to do was tell Fred that dinner was almost ready, he didn't ask for this.

 _Merlin's beard, what had he gotten himself into?_

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

 **A/N: Alrighty everyone! The plot is finally moving along and our favorite pair has finally admitted their feelings to one another. Kinda.**

 **Anyway, I loved the lighter feel of this chapter and I hope to write more like these for the story! Let me know what y'all thought of the kissy scene; as this is all new I have no idea if it's even slightly good or just outright horrid, so please let me know!**

 **Also, HUGE thanks to all of you who have followed, favorited, and/or reviewed! You are the reason I keep updating!**

 **So to new readers, please read, review, follow and favorite!**

 **ALSO! J.K. Rowling, aka literary genius, is the sole owner of all Harry Potter Characters and original plot lines!**


	7. Chapter 7

What's Your Plan?

Chapter 7 – Red and Gold

"No! Do you think I'm that stupid Hermione? You've been spending too much time with my brother! There's no way I'm coming out! Who knows what you're going to do!" George frantically yelled at the bathroom door. It had been two weeks and she STILL hadn't made good on her threats. It was just making him more paranoid. Every time he saw Hermione and Fred alone together he assumed the worst.

He knew that he was being slightly ridiculous, but Hermione..and Fred..together..working on pranks..together; well it was not something he wanted to be on the receiving end of.

"George Fabian Weasley! You let me in the loo or so help me.." Hermione was going to kill him. Or at least hex him really really badly once she got in there. It was 8:30am and she only had 30 minutes to get ready before going with Ginny to muggle London to go watch a movie and shop for new clothes. Both witches had changed a lot the past couple of years and now that they had time, they felt as though they needed a treat.

Or at least that's what they told the Weasley's. Harry and Ginny still hadn't told anyone but Hermione about their engagement, but Ginny wanted to go look at wedding dresses and her newly appointed Maid-Of-Honor was more than happy to oblige. Hermione had managed to get Ginny an appointment to one of the most prestigious dress shops in London that she and her mom had gone to look at when Hermione was just a little girl.

Now she wasn't even sure she would ever be able to see her mother again. She felt a sharp pain of lonesome-worry and guilt that she quickly tried to repress. She didn't want Fred to think she was upset. These last two weeks had been some of the best of her life, and that was because of Fred.

Lost in her thoughts, Hermione was hardly aware that the youngest redhead had joined in her efforts of banging the door down.

"No!" George yelled in retaliation. "I refuse! Just call me Neville Longbottom! I'm like a wall! A wall made of solid stone! You can't get in! I won't allow it!"

"George. Weasley. If. You. Do. Not. Remove. Yourself. From. That. Washroom. RIGHT. NOW. I WILL GO IN THERE MYSELF AND MAKE YOU WISH FRED DIDN'T HAVE A TWIN! YOU WILL NOT BE THE REASON THAT WE ARE LATE IF YOU KNOW WHATS GOOD FOR YOU!"

Slowly, the door creaked open and an embarrassed redhead zoomed out. "SorryGindidntknowyouwereouthere! HeyHermio-gottago!'

"What did he say?" The girls asked at the same time. They burst into giggles and entered the loo together. Hermione needed to take a quick shower and Ginny needed to do her make-up. Having grown up in Hogwarts, where you almost never had privacy in the showers, it was nothing out of the normal.

Just as Hermione was stepping into the shower, Fred burst into the room.

"Ginny! Have you seen Herm.." Fred was nearly screaming at his sister's surprised face before he caught sight of the witch entering the shower, "Oh-I-uh-Nevermind..Found her!" He slammed the door shut and ran down the stairs. Embarrassment was doubled in the bond, some from Hermione and the other from Fred. He felt like he was going to pass out.

What had he done? He didn't mean to see her going into the shower. Surely she knew that! He hadn't even looked at her really. As soon as he had seen her closing the curtain he had run out of the room. She had to know he wasn't trying to be a complete pervert!

Oh Godric..

-OoOoOoOo-

"Oh..Godric! Did you..see his face?" Ginny was hardly able to get out between her hysterical laughter. It had been an hour since "the incident", which is what Hermione had decided to call it, and Ginny still couldn't stop laughing at her best friend's humiliation.

"It's not funny Gin.." Hermione whimpered at her friend for what seemed like the thousandth time.

She hadn't been able to talk to Fred before the girls had apperated to an ally way just across the street from the bridal boutique but she could feel the heavy guilt Fred was feeling through their bond. Sure she was embarrassed but she wished she could tell him that it was fine. Things happened in a house filled with people. It wasn't a big deal.

But she couldn't. She was trying on Maid of Honor dresses while Ginny was trying on Bridal gowns and she was determined to have fun. They had decided not to buy anything without Mrs. Weasley present, but they still wanted to get an idea of what Ginny liked before they actually went shopping for THE dress.

"Okay, okay..I'm sorry," Ginny said attempting half heartedly to somber up, "So we know I look good in A-line, sheath, Mermaid, Trumpet, and Ball gown right?"

"So basically everything?" Hermione smiled at the red head thankful she had finally let "the incident" go for now.

"Basically!"

"Alright then!" Hermione chuckled, "Where do you want to go next? We have all day. No one expects us back until this afternoon."

"Well," Ginny started, throwing a sly smile at Hermione as they walked down the sidewalk in no particular direction, "I have an idea.'

Slightly thrown off by her tone of voice, Hermione stopped and turned towards one of her only girl friends, slightly frightened.

"Oh don't look at me like that!" Ginny guffawed. "I just have a plan that I know Fred will love me for.."

"Fred? What? Ginny, where are we going?" Hermione fired off as her friend picked up her pace towards a very expensive looking boutique.

"Hermione," Ginny sighed in exasperation "The sexiest thing Fred has seen you in was the dress that you wore to Bill and Fleur's wedding _a year ago_. Now, all you wear are t-shirts and sweatpants. It's time you treat my big brother. And yeah, I know it's weird. I'm trying to be supportive dammit!" She ended exclaiming at Hermione's astounded look.

"Hey I don't dress that.."

"Sweatpants Hermione. Sweatpants.."Ginny cut her off.

"Well I don't have anything that fits! It's like I'm still starving! And I eat as much as a Weasley! Everything is still too big!"

"Oh how I wish I had that problem!" an attractive blonde style consultant interrupted before Ginny could begin. She had apparently only caught the last part of the conversation. Hermione hadn't even realized that they had entered the store.

"Hello," Ginny began sweetly, trying to mask her irritation with the sleek young woman for interrupting her, "My friend needs a dress to wear on a date with a guy she's been absolutely _mad_ about for the past 8 years." She winked at Hermione.

Ginny was the only one that really knew how much Hermione had crushed on her older brother. Ever since Hermione and Ginny became friends, Ginny was the only one that Hermione would talk to about her feelings, just as Hermione was the only one Ginny would talk about Harry to.

"I can help with that! Tell me all about the lucky lad!"

-OoOoOo-

"That's perfect! Hermione, you look amazing!"

Hermione was standing in front of the huge mirror in a private dressing room area of the store. Somehow, their consultant had managed to get them into a private room. She was now sitting on the couch drinking champagne with Ginny, watching as Hermione examined herself in the mirror.

Beth, the consultant, had pulled a dark red dress that was just slightly darker than Gryffindor Red that hugged her curves until it hit her hips where the material faded slowly to black. It ended a couple of inches above her knees but still managed to maintain the modesty that Hermione was so fond of. The entire dress was embezzled with small gold diamond shaped jewels.

"It looks like it was made for you..Fred will absolutely love it!" Beth added whistfully.

The girls had told Beth that Fred loved the colors red and gold and that Hermione was planning on taking him out that night to go star gazing. It wasn't a complete lie, they just couldn't tell the blonde girl too much. Just knowing about Hermione and Fred's relationship was dangerous.

Oblivious to the half-story, Beth decided that Hermione needed to look like a star and Hermione could not be more pleased.

Her reflection hardly looked like her. She was plain, no shape, and a wallflower if she was being honest.

The girl that was looking back at her in the mirror was beautiful. She was strong and vibrant and demanded attention. The tattoos on her wrist that matched Fred's wand markings were enhanced by the golden sheen of her dress. She wore her scares proudly and she deserved someone who did the same.

Someone like Fred.

-OoOoOo-

"Hey Mione!" George yelled as she and Ginny walked into the door.

They had gone eat lunch at a small diner after buying Hermione's dress. They had ended up spending a couple of hours just exploring Muggle London, which even to Hermione, who grew up as a muggle for the first 11 years of her life, still found fascinating.

"Huh, you're not scared of her anymore Georgie?" Ginny laughed as she handed Harry, who was sitting on the couch across from George, his favorite muggle candy that she had bought at one of their many stops that day, chocolate covered orange slices.

"Oh no, dear sister of mine, I'll always be scared of our little Hermy here, but for now I know she has bigger things on her plate than revenge on me.." He sang out with a pointed look towards the door that led to the kitchen.

As soon as he had finished, Fred opened the aforementioned door and walked into the room, took one look at Hermione, blushed brighter than she had ever seen, including that morning, and tuned back and walked out the door he had just entered in from.

She made a split second decision and decided to run after him. This was ridiculous. She could feel his shame and guilt like waves washing over her from the bond that they shared and she tried to send just as intense feelings of love and comfort and understanding back to him, but she knew that actually talking to Fred would help put this silly little thing to rest.

She finally found him sitting on his bed in his and George's room. His back was towards her but she could see him physically stiffen up as the door made a creak signaling her presence.

"Fred.."

"Hermione, don't. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to walk in on y-you! I didn't even know you were in there! I thought it was just Ginny putting on her mak.. I didn't even see.."

"Fred!" She cut him off, feeling the self-depreciating feelings building up in their bond again. She needed to make him see that he was being utterly dense.

"Freddie..listen you goof," She began again chuckling, "We've snogged where you've seen more of me than you did today. I am not angry with you at all! What do I have to be angry with? I feel your guilt, and your sorrow," she paused as she walked over to him, "in here." She lifted her hand and placed it over his heart where their bond was most concentrated. She could feel what he was feeling everywhere, but feelings came over the strongest near their hearts.

At her touch she could feel his heart beat quicken. His negative emotions had started to shrink away but he was still nervous.

"I really am sorry Hermione..I should have.."

She cut him off with a chaste kiss before he could even finish.

"Listen you. You didn't do anything wrong." She put her finger to his lips as he started to say something. "Fred…"

"Hermione! I need your help!" Harry called from down stairs in a slight panic.

"When doesn't he need your help?" Fred whispered chuckling. He still felt bad, but at least he knew Hermione wasn't angry with him. All he could imagine all day was her coming home with Ginny and telling him that she needed a break. Or worse, that she was leaving the Burrow..

"Coming Harry!" she yelled towards the closed door of the twin's bedroom. She turned back towards her boyfriend and whispered, "Tonight. Midnight. Meet me at the lake. I want to show you something."

And with that she was running down stairs to see what kind of trouble the Boy-Who-Lived had gotten himself into now, leaving a slightly confused but excited Fred in the room gawking at his amazing witch.

-OoOoOoO-

Hermione was a bit early at the lake but she had never been so excited. The evening had gone by in a flash and the dinner that Mrs. Weasley had prepared was she and Fred's favorite, roast and green beans. They had also had a side of slightly burned rolls courtesy of the Chosen One. It was the perfect beginning to what had the potential to be the perfect night.

Hermione and Ginny had finished their meals in record time and with a lame excuse of cleaning Ginny's room before bed, they excused themselves.

The younger witch had spent hours on Hermione's hair and makeup and at 11:30pm was finally happy with her work. When Hermione was allowed to look in the mirror she gasped.

She looked beautiful. The dress looked even better in Ginny's mirror than it did at the boutique. Her hair hung in soft ringlets framing her face highlighting her cheek bones and her eyes looked like huge sparking dark orbs that, although still betraying what she had been through in the war, showed the mirth that she had been feeling for the past couple of weeks when she was with Fred.

2 minutes. Her Fred was going to be here in 2 minutes.

She knew he was going to love her dress. She was tired of him feeling guilty about seeing her in the shower and maybe she could show him how much she loved him tonight. She wanted to put all of his silly fears to rest. She wasn't going anywhere.

She still couldn't believe how silly he had been. They hadn't gone "all the way" but he had definitely seen more of her than anyone else ever had. He was just a nutter.

A chivalrous lovable nutter.

A rustle of leaves a couple meters from where she was standing startled her out of her thoughts. He had gotten here. And he wasn't late. The Weasley twins were notorious for being late, so she was slightly surprised.

When the rustling stopped and no one stepped out, Hermione immediately went into the defensive. She grabbed her wand that was in her boot and pointed it towards the offending area. Months on the run had caused her to be overly cautious and always on the defense. On the run, you could never be too careful.

But this was just Fred playing some kind of joke, she told herself. She could still feel his excitement through the bond.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione tried to calm herself. The war was over. No one was hunting them anymore. They were safe.

She slowly lowered her wand and whispered into the night, "Freddie.."

More rustling.

"Fr-Freddie?" Hermione was starting to get nervous. If this was some sort of joke, she was going to hex him. She focused on their bond. He still was feeling excited and nervous. Not anxious or any of the feelings he usually had when he was playing a prank.

"Who's there?" She yelled out with false confidence into the night. Only Harry, Ron, and Fred would be able to tell that she was actually terrified.

Flashes of the war passed through her mind. Her friends fighting for their lives, curses flying back and forth between the Order and the Death Eaters, students being tortured. She was in such agony that she knew Fred had to feel it.

Where was he?

On the outside, Hermione looked like an immovable soldier. Her wand pointed towards the area that the rustling had arisen. If the hidden figure thought she was going to go without a fight, they didn't know Hermione Granger.

"Well what do we have here? We came for blood traitors and we snagged a mudblood as well. He'll be pleased.." A voice growled, still hidden in the darkness. A light, slightly familiar laugh responded.

Hermione raised her wand higher. Inside she was screaming for Fred to stay at the Burrow. These people were here for the Weasley's. She couldn't have any of them hurt, especially him.

As Hermione was preparing to cast a stunning charm into the darkness, a group of figures walked towards her, allowing the nearly full moon to illuminate their faces.

There were 4 of them; and Hermione could only make out the two in front.

Standing in the center was Beth, the blonde muggle who had sold her the dress. And just to her right, Fenir Greyback was licking his lips.

-oOoOoOo-

 _Fred!_

Fred jumped from the sudden invasion in his mind. He had nearly keeled over in panic and pain not a moment before he was going to apperate to the spot that Hermione had told him to meet her at. As he righted himself, he heard her voice in his mind.

She was scared. And hurt.

He had to find her. _Now._

-oOoOoOo_

 **A/N: I'm so so so so so sorry it took so long for me to update! But I've gotten the plot all mapped out now and I'm ready to start updating more often! Yay! Cheers!**

 **Anyway, I'm also sorry for the cliffhanger but I gotta make sure you guys stay interested right?**

 **JK Rowling owns everything! Except for the fact that Fred is still alive AND WILL REMAIN ALIVE IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please Read, Review, Follow, Favorite and all that fun stuff!**

 **Thanks Guys!**


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